Harvey evacuees make Dallas home, Battaglia found competent: Your Thursday morning news roundup

September 21,  2017 By Tara Bryant Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌤️ Weather: [Partly cloudy and hot.]( High: 97 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? [It's here.]( Evacuees from South Texas arrived at the "mega shelter" outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas on Aug. 29.  (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Harvey Mayor Mike Rawlings: About 100 Harvey evacuees, who lost everything, will stay in Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said about [100 Hurricane Harvey evacuees from the Gulf Coast plan to remain in Dallas long term](. "They are completely homeless because of what the storm has done and they have chosen to stay," Rawlings said. The evacuees are part of the few hundred evacuees remaining in Dallas. The remainder are awaiting a chance to return home when they can. Rawlings said those who stay will be able to use the Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund that was started in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Rawlings said the fund, which had about $700,000 left in it after that storm, now has more than $1.2 million thanks to new donations and "good investments." And: The Dallas City Council [approved its annual budget]( Wednesday, adding a substantial Dallas Fire-Rescue hiring effort, merit raises for city employees, homeless encampment cleanups and a pilot program for council district offices. Also: The American Society of Civil Engineers [gave Texas a C-minus in its 2017 report card]( released Thursday. SPECIAL OFFER For a limited time, newsletter readers can enjoy unlimited digital access to DallasNews.com for only $2.99 a week. [Sign up today]( and stay informed about the latest news that's important to you. John Battaglia at his competency hearing. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) texas death row John Battaglia found competent to be executed for killing his daughters An appeals court has [found John Battaglia is mentally fit to be executed for killing his daughters](, a punishment the Dallas man has twice tried to postpone. Battaglia made national headlines in 2001 when he shot his daughters, 9-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Liberty, at his Deep Ellum loft while their mother listened on the phone. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld State District Judge Robert Burns' ruling that Battaglia is competent, exhausting the condemned man's final legal option at the state level. He was first scheduled for execution in March 2016 but was granted a stay after he sought new legal counsel to help appeal his sentence. His execution was rescheduled for December 2016 after a state district judge found Battaglia mentally fit to be put to death. But the Court of Criminal Appeals granted him a stay to evaluate his competency. Safety: In the last two days, children have reported being [approached by strangers in Grapevine and Hurst](. Crime: Dallas police have arrested an 18-year-old man [accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting]( a 67-year-old woman over the course of several hours in Lake Highlands. A DART train pulls into the Akard Street station in downtown Dallas. (Tom Fox/File Photo) mass transit DART could saddle future generations with huge debt if it uses backup plan to finance rail, experts warn Two major rail projects might be funded with bonds that [experts warn could land future generations with a massive bill](. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board approved a backup financing plan last week for the suburban Cotton Belt commuter railway and the downtown Dallas subway. The projects are estimated to cost about $1 billion each. The Dallas City Council voted last week for plans to build the subway under Commerce Street. The 26-mile Cotton Belt line, which will run from Plano to DFW International Airport, has been a point of contention between the city and the suburbs because some have worried that the Cotton Belt would be prioritized over the subway. The backup financing plan, though, would allow both projects to move forward with or without federal help, which some local politicians have been concerned about. Crime: A license plate caught on surveillance cameras helped to [catch a Dallas man suspected in at least 7 rapes this year](. Courts: An ex-car dealership manager [admitted to running Dallas brothels](Tuesday when he pleaded guilty in federal court to prostitution-related charges. Advertisement (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Morning Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere (left) puts his forehead to the forehead of Toni Moore Hawkins as the Junior League of Collin County hosts a vigil on Wednesday at McCall Plaza in Plano to pay respects to eight people, including the Hawkins' son Darryl William Hawkins, who lost their lives to domestic violence. Around The Site Quick links - Aviation: The new head of the TSA says better screening processes and new technologies [will speed up airport security lines](. - Environment: Dallas is [planning to remove 19 trees]( from the blackland prairie at Lakewood Park. - Commentary: The Collin County jury [wasn't deceived by Jason Lowe's lurid defense tale](, writes metro columnist Jacquielynn Floyd. - Food and drink: Soon, [Klyde Warren Park will host six pop-up bars]( to benefit Trigger’s Toys, a nonprofit that has raised more than $1 million to help children with medical needs but limited means. Michael Orlie (from left) talks to Jeff Bauman and Jake Gyllenhaal with Keylee Latham, 14, as they tour the Sabolich Prosthetics and Research in Dallas on Tuesday. In the new movie "Stronger," Gyllenhaal plays Bauman, a double amputee who survived the Boston Marathon bombing.  (Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer) Finally... Jake Gyllenhaal is a movie star, and movie stars have a way of pulling a room's energy in their direction without trying. But Gyllenhaal wasn't the center of attention when he entered Scott Sabolich Research and Prosthetics in North Dallas on Tuesday afternoon. And his supporting role seemed to make him happy. At his side was [Jeff Bauman, the man Gyllenhaal plays in the new movieStronger](, which is directed by Richardson native David Gordon Green and opens Friday. Bauman lost both of his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, where he stood in the crowd cheering for his on-again, off-again girlfriend. The photograph of a man in a cowboy hat pushing a dazed Bauman in a wheelchair became an iconic image. Bauman helped identify one of the bombing suspects. And he became a symbol of "Boston Strong," a vessel of hope for a city reeling in sadness, anger and disbelief. Advertisement 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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